The US response to the Qatar crisis has been completely confused, with President Trump contradicting his own Secretary of State and vice-versa. Is America's largest military base in the Middle East at risk?

While Israel has been unable to directly join the Saudi-led move to “blockade” Qatar, having very limited contact with them in the first place, that hasn’t stopped them from throwing their substantial lobbying support behind a move already backed by Saudi and Emirati lobbyists to see the US Congress pass anti-Qatar legislation.
...
More: http://news.antiwar.com/2017/06/11/israel-saudis-uae-lobby-congress-for-anti-qatar-legislation/

William Tell

06-12-2017, 11:29 PM

McAdams got a haircut.

Brian4Liberty

06-13-2017, 09:33 AM

Trump goes to Saudi Arabia and Israel, and this is the result. Brilliant!

...

Siding against ally Qatar, Trump injects US into Arab crisis

President Donald Trump injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America's Mideast allies, siding Tuesday with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and counter Iran.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic U.S. partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops. He also sought to cast the anti-Qatar action led by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates as the result of his trip last month to Riyadh, where he pressed leaders from dozens of Arab and Muslim governments, including Qatar's emir, to combat extremism.

Trump said he'd told the kings, presidents and prime ministers that funding "Radical Ideology" can't be tolerated, and "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"
...
Qatar's neighbors have long accused the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including al-Qaida's Syria branch — all of which Qatar denies. But its independent foreign policy has led to various tensions with its neighbors. The region's Sunni states bristle at Qatar's less hostile position toward Shiite Iran and object to its backing groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology challenges the system of hereditary rule in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and elsewhere.
...
More: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-arab-leaders-complained-qatar-47861002